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Themis Eternal- 10-17-2005
No Amber Alert for island
No Amber Alert for island By Steve Limtiaco Pacific Daily News slimtiaco@guampdn.com Residents in most states know within hours when a child has been abducted and they are given a description of the child and a possible description of the kidnapper and the kidnapper's vehicle. Hawaii early this year became the 50th state to implement an "Amber Alert" plan, which is a federally supported system to immediately notify the public about abducted children. The alerts are emergency messages broadcast when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger, according to the Justice Department Web site. Children on Guam are abducted as well, including a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped at knifepoint on the way to her school bus stop Wednesday morning, but the island is not part of the Amber Alert system. In fact, Guam is excluded from the 2003 law that provides federal funding assistance for Amber alerts. In the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the federal government will pick up half the cost of program development and 80 percent of the cost of changeable roadside signs and other information systems to alert motorists. Small territories were left out because the law originally was intended to notify motorists in large urban and metropolitan areas, according to Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo. She said voluntary systems also exist, which allow law enforcement officials and the electronic media to issue warnings and alerts, including alerts sent to cellular phones and other communication devices. Amber for Guam? "Even without large signs along highways, our island can benefit from a similar program; this public-private partnership not only serves the interest of the community but may also protect and save lives with almost immediate updates broadcast to residents," Bordallo is quoted as saying. "We're gonna do some evaluation and research on it," police spokesman Sgt. Joseph Carbullido said about the idea of an alert system for Guam. "We're gonna determine the need and the feasibility for it on Guam." The 9-year-old girl kidnapped Wednesday was released unharmed shortly after she was taken. Police continue to investigate, Carbullido said. Guam police made her abduction known to the public the same day, but that has not always been the case. The mother of 11-year-old murder victim Herman "Hermie" Santos reported him missing to Guam police at 9 p.m. Sept. 2, 1999, but police did not release that information to the public until the next evening, when it was included in the police blotter. His charred remains were discovered days later and his mother's boyfriend was convicted of murder. "I can't really answer for what happened back then," Carbullido said. "I know we do give the media as much information as we can on missing persons, to assist us." Carbullido said the police need the public's assistance with Wednesday's kidnapping, which is why information was released immediately. Wednesday's kidnapping raises public awareness about the need to keep children safe, said Sarah Thomas-Nededog, executive director of Sanctuary Inc., which provides shelter for teens who need help. "Thankfully we don't have a lot of children who are abducted. It's not to say that will never be the case on Guam, so it's always a good thing to set up systems that would help preclude it from occurring," she said. A program like Amber would obviously have to be modified for Guam, Thomas-Nededog said. "But the concept of alerting people, kind of like a heightened neighborhood watch, is something that might work." Cases of child abduction are not as rare as some might believe for such a small island community. In November 1995, several teenage girls were abducted from Guam bus stops and raped. Paul Santos Mafnas, Jr. was found guilty of three counts of criminal sexual conduct in connection with the attacks and is behind bars at the Department of Corrections. He was denied parole last year and earlier this year. In January 1999, a 14-year-old girl was kidnapped on her way home from school, sexually assaulted and locked in a Dededo ranch house, Pacific Daily News files state. In March 2000 an 8-year-old girl was kidnapped in the Astumbo housing area, but managed to escape unharmed two hours later, files state. Originally published October 17, 2005 GuamPDN

Themis Eternal- 10-17-2005

In the dark ages before the Amber Alert System if a 9yo was kidnapped at knife point and missing they STILL showed it on TV. So is this Guam's way of saying you won't fund us so we will let the children suffer?? Even in this article they state how important the system is and yet no details on this child to help her. That is just pathetic!

Gaia- 10-17-2005

Ok Guam is considered part of the US territories right? So how come they arent included in the Amber Plan? Also, are they part of the National Sex Offender Registry?? And what about Puerto Rico, also considered a US territory. Im glad you thought of this. When we say United States, the majority of us think just the 50 states. We are bigger than that. Just because they arent attached to the main 48, we cant forget they exist! My brother was stationed on Guam awhile back with 2 small children and I doubt being military would have made a difference if his children were abducted. I assume Guam is being added to the hit list lol.

Themis Eternal- 10-20-2005

Too late we must have skeeerd them LOL Guam starts AMBER Alert By Steve Limtiaco Pacific Daily News slimtiaco@guampdn.com Guam this week joined the rest of the nation in adopting an AMBER Alert system to immediately notify the public when a child has been abducted. The move comes a week after a 9-year-old girl allegedly was kidnapped at knifepoint while on her way to her school bus stop in upper Tumon. The girl was released unharmed and police continue to investigate. "As a result of the incident, the governor sat us down and said, 'What system do we have to be able to get the information out quicker to the public?'" Guam Homeland Security Adviser Frank Blas Jr. said. AMBER Alerts will be issued via the existing Emergency Address System, Blas said, which uses radio, television and outdoor sirens to issue warnings to the public. The alerts, which already have been implemented in all 50 states, are emergency messages broadcast when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger, according to the U.S. Justice Department Web site. The public is given a description of the victim, the alleged kidnapper and the alleged kidnapper's vehicle. While local officials talked about using the system to send other types of alerts to the public, Blas said Gov. Felix Camacho decided that Guam would adopt the same practices as other jurisdictions in order to avoid confusion. "It's going to work the same way here," except for the alerts on signs that are used on mainland highways, Blas said. If Guam police determine that an alert is necessary and appropriate, Blas said, he can authorize an announcement over the emergency address system. Guam Police Department Capt. Paul Suba said an alert would be issued if police determine that someone under the age of 17 has been kidnapped and there is an immediate threat of injury. The risk of issuing an alert is that the kidnapper would be alerted as well, police Chief Frank Ishizaki said. The benefit would be recovering the kidnapped child quickly and reducing the chance of the child being harmed. In some cases, kidnappers have released their captives immediately after hearing the AMBER Alert, according to the governor's office. The alert system is in place and can be used immediately, Blas said, but officials continue to work out the procedures for issuing an alert. Suba said Guam police will contact other places in the United States to learn their processes and how they write their alert messages. A federal law passed in 2003 provides federal funding to help states implement AMBER Alerts, but Guam and other territories were excluded since the system is intended mainly for urban areas. But officials believe it could work here as well, and Suba said it also could serve as a deterrent to kidnappers, just as someone is less likely to steal from a store with surveillance cameras. Not every kidnapping case would qualify for an AMBER Alert, said police Chief Ishizaki, who will be part of the decision-making process before alerts are issued. For example, the system is not intended to alert the public if a non-custodial parent tries to take a child from the island, he said "We're more worried about predators picking up kids," he said. Suba noted that an emergency alert system is not a substitute for responsible parenting and knowing where your children are. WANTED Police are looking for a suspect in last week's kidnapping. The man is described as being Caucasian with a medium build and black hair. He was wearing a black shirt and blue shorts. The suspect drove a late 1990s red Honda Prelude. Originally published October 21, 2005 HOW IT WORKS Guam will use the same process states use to determine whether to issue an Amber Alert. Here is the process recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice: There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred. The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child. The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger. The child's name and other critical data elements have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system. WHAT IS IT? President Bush authorized the national AMBER Alert program as part of the PROTECT Act signed in 2003. The law formally established the federal government's role in the AMBER Alert program, appointing the Department of Justice as the agency responsible for coordinating AMBER Alerts on the national level. The Justice Department has officially partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, authorizing it as the agent that coordinates and disseminates AMBER Alerts to secondary distributors. AMBER stands for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response" and was created in 1997 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to find abducted children. The AMBER Alert Program was soon adopted across the nation and is a legacy to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then murdered. According to NCMEC, more than 200 children have been recovered since the AMBER Alert program began in 1997. PROTECT YOUR KIDS A recent failed child kidnapping case has Guam's community concerned about the safety of children when they are left alone on their way to and from school and other activities. Police are urging parents to talk to their kids about not talking to strangers. This weekend, parents will have an opportunity to register their children with the annual Kid Care Program, which is being offered as a public service by Agana Shopping Center and Hit Radio 100 at the shopping center. The Kid Care Program provides families with free identification booklets that are an approved form of standard identification for children by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Parents will be provided with a free ID booklet for each child. All children up to age 12 are eligible. Each booklet will have the child's picture and information, including hair and eye color, and height and weight, said Tess Reyes, Agana Shopping Center assistant general manager and marketing director. Families who have had booklets made in the past for their children should bring those booklets with them so the photo and ID information can be updated. FOR MORE INFO Call Tess Reyes at Agana Shopping Center at 472-5027/8. ON THE NET * Department of Justice: www.justice.gov * The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: www.missingkids.com * FBI: www.fbi.gov/kids/crimepre/abduct/abdrules.htm WANTED Police are looking for a suspect in last week's kidnapping. The man is described as being Caucasian with a medium build and black hair. He was wearing a black shirt and blue shorts. The suspect drove a late 1990s red Honda Prelude. HOW TO HELP Anyone with information about the kidnapping should call police at 475-8615/17 or Guam Crime Stoppers at 477-HELP (4357). Crime Stoppers does not use caller ID. GuamPDN

Gaia- 10-20-2005

They must have heard about our Amber Alert Email Hit Lists lol.......Better late than never I suppose.

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